The Sound Of Progress
by shadowsorel
Summary: Mileena goes along with Skarlet's plans. But when she bumps into someone... Warning: This is crack. Contains fluff and onomatopoeia taken to an extreme. (Written for IronGiant9000)


_Clack, clack, clack, clack._

_Pause._

_Ruffle._

_Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack..._

_Shing! Whoosh. Ker-chack! Thud!_

"Skarlet, what are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing. I am certainly not striking a piece of wood in preperation for revenge."

Mileena sighs, as this is probably the fiftieth day she has been 'preparing for revenge' and never actually thinking of executing it. It's not like today will be different.

"For what, the hundred-eighth time?"

"It has to be perfect."

"Revenge is a dish that is better when served unexpectedly, along with a few sweet, gentle touches."

"Like what?"

"Like slowly tearing his head off."

Scratching her head as rapidly as her fingers would allow, Skarlet keeps her lips watertight until the slow seconds finally make their way, allowing them to break out the words, "Good point. Alright. Let's go."

"Wait, what? 'Let's go'? I didn't expect it to-"

"Of course. You said it yourself. It's not like he is expecting us now, is it?"

Okay, she half-expected that. She said it herself, didn't she? But is today really- No, she's defying herself.

"Is it really necessary?"

"No, of course it isn't! Of course avenging Shao Kahn, Konquerer of the Realms, and our master, by murdering Quan Chi, who had driven him to this, isn't at all necessary!"

"If you say so..."

"To the Netherrealm."

"And how?"

The thought just came to Skarlet's mind. They have no portal, and no idea how to conjure one up. They couldn't possibly travel there without any magic aid. Unless...

"Who the fuck is Shujinko?"

"Who cares? He knows where the portals are."

_Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack..._

On and on...

_Clog, clog, clog, clog, clog, clog, clog- THUD!_

_Shing!_ "Where are the por-"

After being interrupted for completely no reason by this old man, holding a knife dangerously close to his throat, Mileena pushes him to any random direction he spouts, which was constant.

What the distraction was, we might never know. It could have been a feigned intruder. It could have been a simple "Look! A BIRD!" It could have been a little blue dot constantly shining by the moon.

Okay, he _might_ have used the last one. And it _might_ have failed miserably, considering it was still daytime. Bottom line: it pissed Mileena off.

As they finally see four colored gates to the realms (due to Seido, Edenia, and Outworld being fused together), Mileena approaches the fiery red one, throwing the man down.

_THUD!_

Mileena's fingers motioned for Skarlet, the four of them seeming to be stuck together, moving back and forth.

_whoosh._

_Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack-_

_Crackle, crackle, crackle- SNAP!_

_ROAR._

The heat seeps deep into Mileena's skin, and Skarlet's blood starts to boil. Not a good thing, of course. Unless she wishes to die. Not before he does, she thinks.

The Netherrealm. The Netherrealm, in which even your teeth and bones can burn easily, quickly converting them into ashes if you don't watch your step. The Netherrealm, in which if you don't pay attention, all of your hair, no, flesh, will be gone. The Netherrealm, in which you will weaken if you are good, and your drive to kill will be boosted.

The Netherrealm, in which Quan Chi resides.

And in which someone blocks your way. And you can probably guess who. The yellow-black scheme he dons. The overly muscular figure. The large kunai attached to a chain near his waist. The two Mugai Ryu on his back...

The blank eyes that seemed to burn into you. Your soul...

Scorpion.

"I demand to speak to Quan-"

"Say it. I'll pass it on."

"Look. If you allow her to speak to him-"

"I couldn't care less."

"Yes, you would."

"What makes you think that?"

"I know the current location of the Lin Kuei."

Scorpion stares at the abominations, in a state of disbelief (to a degree). How can she possibly know?

Wait. Ask it out loud.

"And how would you know?"

"The Lin Kuei had offered their services to Shao Kahn in exchange for Sub-Zero. They are still allied with us, and..." Mileena started to lie, "despite their so-called excellence, they managed to reveal their location."

"How?"

"That part remains a mystery. Yet, I will guide you to their headquarters... if you allow Skarlet to speak to Quan Chi.

Pondering about vengeance, yet again. Should he kill the entire clan? Maybe he should, seeing as he had only murdered Sub-Zero... And it was the Lin Kuei as a whole who had murdered the Shirai Ryu... And Quan Chi is allied with Shao Kahn, who is the leader of these two women, erm, assassins. All it takes is for one to speak to him.

Just some permission. It's all it takes.

Scorpion moves to the side of Skarlet's way, careful to not fall and burn. Not that it matters, considering he is already dead. As Skarlet walks away, Scorpion grasps Mileena's arm, tugging it, signaling her to walk in the opposite direction.

_Clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop, clack, clop..._

Facing the four portals once again, Mileena directs Scorpion toward the green portal.*

"Follow me."

The two find themselves in an overly lush forest, with vines growing anywhere they pleased, the grass shining, the leaves on tops of the tall trees providing just enough shade for two. Flowers, flowers everywhere, having more colors than a box of 128 Crayolas.

"Don't tell me the Lin Kuei reside around here."

"Don't be ridiculous! The Lin Kuei are, erm.. uh... Truth be told, I have no idea where we are."

"WHAT?! You told me you would direct me to the-"

"I know what I said! I just... don't know where to go from here." she fibs.

Scorpion stared into Mileena's orange-yellow eyes, and as expected, he wanted to gouge them out to the point where her sockets bled excessively and the eyeballs themselves were converted to pulp by his own foot.

"Fine!" Mileena whined. "I have no idea where the Lin Kuei are! All this was just for Skarlet to be able to assassinate Quan Chi and- I said too much, didn't I?"

"Damn right, bitch!" Mileena started to back away from Scorpion as he drew out a sword. _Shing!_

"Wait! There's more."

"How could there possibly be more? You just revealed your entire plan!"

"There's a reason Skarlet wants to murder Quan Chi. Seeing as he was planning on conquering all the realms, and leading Shao Kahn to death, she was, erm, bent on revenge. And, do you know what is of Sub-Zero now?"

"Yes. He is dead-"

"And resurrected, courtesy of Quan Chi."

"He-"

"I'm not done here. I was allied with him before he was killed by the Soulnado. He actually told me he had killed you. Just not the rest of the Shirai Ryu. And especially not your wife and son."

Mileena finds herself staring into Scorpion's eyes again. Still blank, no surprise there. But they seem to hold an expression. Shock. Definitely shock. To a small degree, though.

"Why did you do it?" Mileena pries.

"Do what?"

"You know, allow your wife and kid to stay in the Shirai Ryu."

"I just wanted a comfortable life for them, really. Being in... there seemed to be logical."

"You know, you're really acting out of character here."

Scorpion, for the first time in ages, sighs. "But if it wasn't Sub-Zero..."

"Quan Chi."

"And how would you know?"

"Let's see. He drove you to anger, framed Sub- er, Noob Saibot, brought him to life as a more powerful being whose sole purpose is to serve. Do the math."

"There is no use, is there? Revenge. Pointless. I'll never see my son again."

_Thump. Rustle, rustle. Thump._

As he sits by a tree, resting his head against the bark, Mileena decides to sit by him. She has no idea how to comfort someone.

"Maybe you will see him. It's just a matter of time."

_Okay, good start,_ she thinks.

"You know, I didn't actually expect you to actually..."

"Reach out to you? Truth be told, I didn't plan this, either."

The two looked at the sunset, despite being lost in thought. He had no idea that despite being a burning, heartless monstrosity, he could actually feel... compassion. Sympathy. Just any other emotion that wasn't anger. And somehow, it happened. The two found their chests touching, their arms wrapping each other. A hug. And it was foreign to the two. They quickly broke apart, favoring the sunset. And their fingers stitched together.

* * *

*** (If memory serves right. I hope it does.)**

**Oh, crap, it's fucking sappy. I've succumbed to an awful amount of OOC-ness. And now my story is crap! ;_;**

**Yeah, this was a short one-shot I wrote for the user I mentioned above. It was also an English project, seeing as I am currently trying to master onomatopoeia, and I clearly suck ass at it, seeing as it's the majority of this.**

**I seem to have a thing for "thudding" and such.**


End file.
